Atlantis: The Hotel

The Atlantis resort actually consists of several hotels. The Royal Towers are the centerpiece, with their distinctive pink exterior and soaring twin high-rise wings. On the other side of the casino are the Coral Towers (whose hallways and rooms are more like standard hotel rooms), and even further beyond that is the Beach Tower. (The Atlantis website has a map of the entire grounds, if you're curious about the layout.) Of course, looking at the map can be rather deceiving. The place is HUGE, and it's quite a hike from the Royal Towers over to the Coral Towers.

The lobby of the Royal Towers is a massive rotunda several stories high. It looked like the gods themselves would be right at home there. As you walk in, your eyes are drawn upward to the lobby's golden domed roof, with its sculptural seashell pattern and recessed apex featuring a trompe l'oeil painting of sky and clouds. It's quite impressive and beautiful.

Our rooms were on the concierge (or "Imperial", as they call it) levels of the Royal Towers, floors 17 and up. These rooms cost a bit more than a standard room, but come with two key perks: a high speed elevator that whisks you directly to the concierge level without stopping on intermediate floors, and (more importantly) a club lounge that serves food all day long. For breakfasts they had a variety of fruits, cheese, toast, muffins, pastries, and bagels, plus juices and coffee. In the afternoon they have finger sandwiches. A 5-7pm cocktail hour offers free beer, wine and mixed drinks. And later in the evening they have cookies and sweets. Perhaps the best part of it is the view: the concierge lounge has a balcony where you can sit out and look over the hotel grounds and the ocean beyond. It's quite a view.

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